Stopper extractor

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a manually operated stopper extractor device arranged to engage a bottle of carbonated liquid to remove the stopper. The extractor device includes a frame arranged to be centered about the neck of the bottle and a side support housing which encloses an actuation lever coupled to an extraction yoke. The yoke is operable between a disengaged and engaged position with the stopper. When the lever is in a compressed actuated position, the yoke engages the stopper and moves the stopper upwardly to remove the stopper from the bottle.

We claim:  
     
       1. An extractor device arranged to remove a stopper having a head end portion larger than the opening in the bottle neck the extractor device including: 
       a mounting frame structurally arranged to be centered about the throat of a bottle;  
       a side support housing associated with said mounting frame;  
       an actuation lever coupled to a yoke member and arranged to be pivotally mounted in said side support housing and movable between an at-rest and an actuated position;  
       an extraction and stopper retention housing structurally arranged to be positioned on the end of the mounting frame; and  
       wherein said yoke member having a wedge portion is coupled to said actuation lever by a linkage limited by a gap in the yoke member, such that the initial pivotal movement of the lever from an at-rest position causes the yoke member to follow a rectilinear operating path between the bottle neck and the stopper head end portion, and with the continued movement of said lever to an actuated position, cause said wedge portion of said yoke member to engage the stopper head end portion and upwardly move the same to remove the stopper from the bottle neck.  
     
     
       2. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said yoke member is pivotally mounted to said lever intermediate the ends thereof to provide the initial rectilinear movement of said yoke member between the stopper head and the opening of the bottle and the upward movement of the yoke member when said lever reaches said actuated position. 
     
     
       3. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said actuation lever is engageable with a resilient member mounted in said retention housing to bias said lever to said at-rest position. 
     
     
       4. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said actuation lever is pivotally mounted to said side support housing at the upper end of said actuation lever. 
     
     
       5. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said mounting frame includes a self-centering support member comprised of a tubular portion having a free end resting on the bottle neck and an intermediate portion having a supporting member arranged to engage the throat of the bottle. 
     
     
       6. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein said supporting member arranged to engage the throat is an inner protrusion. 
     
     
       7. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said extraction stopper housing is of sufficient width to permit the rectilinear movement of said wedge portion of said yoke member into and between the bottle neck and the stopper head end portion. 
     
     
       8. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the height of said extraction stopper housing is greater than the length of the stopper. 
     
     
       9. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein said extraction stopper housing is open ended. 
     
     
       10. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein said resilient member is a compression spring. 
     
     
       11. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said linkage between said lever and said yoke comprises a pair of lateral extending axes positioned on said lever which cooperate to engage a pair of space apart flanges extending from said yoke, with the wall between said flanges being spaced from said lever to provide a gap therebetween that defines the width of said linkage. 
     
     
       12. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said wedge portion of said yoke member includes a pair of projections having a recess therebetween which engages the stopper head portion to remove said stopper from the bottle neck. 
     
     
       13. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the path of travel of said rectilinear motion of said yoke member is transverse to the longitudinal axis of said mounting frame, and the path of travel of said yoke member is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said mounting frame extractor during removal of the stopper from the bottle neck. 
     
     
       14. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein said free end is tubular. 
     
     
       15. The extractor device in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein said free end is funnel shaped.